San Cristóbal de La Laguna from Icod: what to see and how to get there

San Cristóbal de La Laguna has been a World Heritage Site since 1999 because of its street plan: it was the first unwalled Spanish colonial town, and its layout became the model for many cities in the Americas. From Icod you get there by car on the northern motorway or on TITSA bus 108, which links Icod with La Laguna and Santa Cruz. The old town is a morning on foot: the cathedral, the church of La Concepción, Calle La Carrera, Calle San Agustín and the Plaza del Adelantado.

Why it is a World Heritage Site

UNESCO inscribed it in 1999 for two things you can see as you walk. First, it has two cores: the Upper Town, which grew without a plan, and the Lower Town, laid out on a grid according to philosophical principles as an ideal 'territory-town'. Second, that model of an open, unfortified town was exported to the Americas. The protected area covers just over 60 hectares.

The council stresses another point: the old town is still lived in, with shops, public services and cultural life, so you share it with the people who work and live there.

What to see in the old town

The Cathedral

Outside it keeps its neoclassical façade, finished around 1820. Inside it is almost entirely twentieth-century: the church was demolished in 1905 except for that façade, and the new one was consecrated in 1913, with neo-Gothic vaults and an ambulatory. It was closed for works from 2002 to 2014. Today you visit with an audio guide, and there are limited-capacity climbs up one of its towers.

La Concepción and its tower

It stands in the Villa de Arriba, and the council considers it Tenerife's oldest parish church. The present three-aisled church was decided on in 1511 and finished in 1558. The 28-metre stone tower went up between 1694 and 1697, and it works as a landmark from many points in the old town. Inside: red tuff columns, Mudéjar ceilings and a glazed Seville font in use since 1556.

La Carrera (Calle Obispo Rey Redondo)

One of the city's original streets, and one of its busiest for shopping. At number 5 is the Casa de los Capitanes Generales, a seventeenth-century house with a reddish tuff doorway and a large courtyard; it holds the tourist office, a good place to start with a map.

Calle San Agustín

• Palacio de Salazar. A Baroque ashlar façade with two small towers, begun in 1681. It is the bishop's seat, so the interior may not be open.
• Casa Lercaro. A late sixteenth-century palace with a Mannerist doorway and a colonnaded courtyard; today it houses the Museum of History and Anthropology of Tenerife.
• Former convent of San Agustín. Now part of a secondary school. It keeps a Renaissance cloister that ranks among the finest in the Canaries, and the ruins of the church that burned in 1964 still stand.

Plaza del Adelantado

On one corner, the Palacio de Nava, whose present stone façade is the 1776 remodelling. Beside it, the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena, opened in 1611, with its wooden lattice balconies and still home to enclosed Dominican nuns. Facing the square, the chapel of San Miguel.

Getting there from Icod

By bus. TITSA route 108 leaves Icod, runs through Los Realejos and La Orotava, continues along the TF-5 and stops in La Laguna before ending in Santa Cruz. TITSA gives 1 h 15 min for the full run to Santa Cruz. It is the easy option if you do not want to hunt for parking.

By car. The TF-5, the northern motorway, is the same road the 108 uses. On parking, the council's tourism site only says there are several options near the historic centre and points to a map; it does not publish a list of car parks or prices. Plan it before you set off.

World Heritage

UNESCO, 1999, criteria (ii) and (iv)

Bus from Icod

TITSA 108, Icod – La Laguna – Santa Cruz

Tourist office

Casa de los Capitanes, Obispo Rey Redondo 5. Monday to Friday, 9:00–16:30, except holidays

Casa Lercaro (museum)

San Agustín 20–22. Monday to Saturday 9:00–19:00; Sundays and holidays 10:00–17:00

Cathedral

Audio-guided visit; limited-capacity tower climb

Pairing it with Anaga

La Laguna is the gateway to Anaga, but fitting the city and the whole of Anaga into one day from Icod is too much. What does fit is the old town in the morning and, in the afternoon, a trip up to the Cruz del Carmen visitor centre, on the Las Mercedes road (TF-12), inside Anaga Rural Park. According to the Cabildo, which runs it, it opens every day from 9:30 to 16:00, and in July, August and September and from 21 December to 9 January until 15:00; it is closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 and 6 January. The town council's tourism site gives different Christmas dates (22 December to 10 January) and lists it as closed on all public holidays: if you are going on a holiday, ring +34 922 633 576 first. The trails that start there are in the Anaga guide. If you want Anaga with its hamlets and beaches, give it a day of its own.

Anaga in a day from the north

From Finca Julia

From Icod, La Laguna is at the other end of the north, so it is a day out. If you go by bus, leave early to arrive before the mid-morning guided walk. And if you are flying from Tenerife North, the airport is in La Laguna municipality itself: the city can be the last stop of the trip, with your luggage in the car.

Frequently asked questions

Why is La Laguna a World Heritage Site?

Because of its street plan: it was the first unwalled Spanish colonial town, and its layout served as a model for cities in the Americas. UNESCO inscribed it in 1999.

Is there a direct bus from Icod to La Laguna?

Yes, TITSA route 108, which continues to Santa Cruz. Check titsa.com for the day's times and which La Laguna stops pick up passengers.

How long do you need for the old town?

The official guided walk takes about an hour. Add the cathedral, a museum and an unhurried lunch, and it is a long morning.